


With great words come great understanding

by Killer_Rabbit_of_Caerbannog



Series: Along came a spider [3]
Category: The Avengers - All Fandoms
Genre: M/M, Superfamily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-18
Updated: 2012-08-18
Packaged: 2017-11-12 09:38:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/489434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Killer_Rabbit_of_Caerbannog/pseuds/Killer_Rabbit_of_Caerbannog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The outside world is a complex yet fascinating place, and Peter has much to learn and do and see, mostly figuring out these new people who are not quite normal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	With great words come great understanding

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably the last part that is going to be from Peter's perspective, but I figured I'd include the Avengers from his POV just 'cause I find it amusing/interesting to ponder how a hyper-intelligent superbaby would view this group of weirdos. Of course, if anyone does want more baby!Peter POV just let me know, but this was mostly setting up future chapters.
> 
> As always, this is inspired by and dedicated to the magnificant Mandylasers of tumblr fame, and everyone should go check out her amazing art at once. She even did a lil pic for 'How to care for your strays' because she's awesome like that.

 

> "What's in a **name**? That which we call a rose. By any other **name** would smell as sweet."

 

 

 

##### Baby Mama

 

Peter never realised just how many people there were on the outside.

When he was in the warm quiet place, there had been only the Creator man and brothers, but even though Creator man had taught him about all the others outside, Peter never _knew_.

There were so very many,  _many_ others, but Peter is not scared; not while he has his Metal man. He likes his Metal man, who, as it turns out, is not just blue warm light in the middle, but shiny and _red_ all over – Peter likes that. Metal man who is ‘Tony’, but no, that’s not right, because Peter _knows_.

In the store there are others, lots of others, women, some who have little brothers too, normal not failure brothers, others who are small like Peter. ‘Baby’, the others say, which seems to mean the little brothers, no, not right, means little others who are not failure dead brothers, others like Peter. Peter is a ‘ _baby_ ’. He does not like that word. Oh well.

But the baby others (‘babies?’) have the women others who hold and smile and talk to them just like his Metal man did, his ‘ _Tony’_. But they are not Tony, they are different names; Stacey and Michelle and Priya.

Peter knows all about names, was taught by Creator man; everyone has their own name, but groups of things that are the similar also have another name.

Peter is ‘Peter’ but also ‘baby’. Others with babies have names, but are also new word: ‘mom’. There is a bigger baby who can make sounds like talking, who says it ‘mama’, which must be how babies say the name.

Metal man is ‘Tony’ who is also ‘Mama’. Peter is happy now he knows this, learnt it all on his own without being taught or told by Creator man. ‘Mama’. He likes that word. Has a nice sound. Peter tries to say it too, but he cannot make sounds like talking yet. But he is growing learning fast, Creator man had said, so soon he will be able to. Soon.

There is also the two others: a nice man who has a nice name – Happy, like the emotion – that plays with Peter; and the red lady with the kind eyes who speaks sternly to Peter's Mama but seemed to be to him as the Creator man was to Peter, teaching his Mama how to hold and feed Peter. ‘Pepper’. He likes that, that the Pepper red lady has a name like Peter’s.

Still, Mama is always there, which makes Peter happy because he likes his Mama the best. The others, the mamas in the store, had scolded his Mama and told him he was doing things wrong, and Peter didn’t like that at all, because that made his Mama sad in his eyes.

But now, oh _now_ it is better, now Peter knows how to get his Mama to stay; earlier he had touched a cup with drink in it – ‘coffee’, they all called it – that had been hot hot hot and it had hurt his hand, but when he cried Mama was there, holding him and talking. Making noise was new and strange, but Peter likes being able to do it, even if he does not seem to be able to _talk_ , not like his Mama and the others, but crying is fine anyway, because it makes his Mama come over straight away and hold him.

Clothes.

Clothes were funny – he had been shown them in his quiet warm place by Creator man, knew what they were for, what they looked like – but wearing them feels strange. Nice. Soft and warm all over, just like in his dark quiet blocked place, but better, because he could move and be outside and the soft warm went with him. Amazing!

Touching and smelling was fantastic; Peter had never been able to smell before, and everything is so strong and nice and interesting.

The outside world is _fascinating_.

But the best thing of all is that his Mama is always there, talking talking talking all the time, about everything, and Peter is so very happy. And so very free.

 

 

 

 

##### A golden sky lights up the world

 

Flying.

Peter is flying again and yes yes yes _yes_ , again again, fly flying up up in the air, like a bird, no, a plane, _whoosh_ , wind and fast and up high in the sky.

This time flying is better, not so cold and bad, because of clothes. Peter likes clothes. His red Pepper lady had said he was a snuggly bug in a rug, all wrapped up safe and warm. Snuggly bug in a rug.

Then down and flying is over. No, Peter wants to fly again, but wait.

This is somewhere different again, all metal and grey.

Like the quiet warm lock away place.

Machines and lights and glass.

No no no no no, Peter does not want to go back, not back to that place, wants to stay outside with his Mama.

“Hey, hey now Peter, shush now, its okay, everything’s okay. Hey, I gotcha, it’s all good, don’t cry, everything’s okay.” Mama rocks him, holds him close against the warm blue light, talks nice and soft, and Mama made him free, so it will be okay then. Mama wouldn’t put Peter away.

Then there’s a big big big room with lots of machines and glass and others, but best of all, Peter can _see_. Outside there is white clouds and blue sky, up in the air, but that is outside and Peter wants to fly aga-

Something touches on foot.

Oh, _others_.

All close and looking, like mamas in store, but these are not mamas, these are all men others, no wait, and a woman other. Peter makes sounds that is not crying, happy sounds like the babies in the store, and the closest big other man smiles at him.

Sunlight. Goldy gold warm sunlight on his head, not dark hair like Peter and Mama, and he wants to _touch_. Reaches but goldy other man is too far away and does not come closer. He makes sounds, not happy but not crying, just wants Goldy man to be closer, but that does not work – Goldy man is not listening to him.

Peter makes the sound that made Happy and Pepper pick him up, but Goldy man still is not looking. Peter makes the sound again, louder, and ah, this time Goldy man _looks_ at Peter, reaches for him, but then _stops_ and no, now Peter is not happy anymore.

There is a lot of talking going on and that is what makes Goldy man not obey Peter, and Peter is going to have to fix that _right now_ but then, oh, Goldy man is smiling and comes close and there is a finger touching his cheek.

Hmmm, Peter likes this. Touching is nice, so Peter grips onto the finger, and the Goldy man looks and _looks_ , and oh, blue.

Blue eyes.

Blue eyes bright like light, but also something else, something better, more, like with Mama, warm and nice and safe.

“Are you up for being a daddy?” Mama says, and Goldy man eyes go _happy_ , so very happy nice warm blue safe close, holds Peter and Mama and, yes, this is the best yet. Peter likes _this_ best of all. Better than flying.

 

 

 

 

##### What's a home without pets?

 

‘Home’.

It takes a while of hearing it before Peter is able to grasp what the meaning of the new word is.

‘Home’ is like ‘house’, but different, because many others say ‘home’ but don’t mean ‘house’ as in a place to live in. They say ‘home’ is if someone _belongs_ to it, and not just live there.

Peter does not quite understand, but it may have something to do with emotions, which are very confusing, and as Creator man had not given that subject much time, other than saying that Peter did not need emotions, he knows very little about them.

But if ‘home’ is like ‘belong’, then Peter at least understands _that_.

‘Belong’ is easy, because ‘belong’ is ‘to own’, and now he is on the outside and free, Peter does own. Peter has clothes and a bed and a bottle and toys, but best of all, Peter now owns others.

In the dark warm quiet place, Peter and failure dead wrong brothers belonged to Creator man. They were special weapons made by Creator man, made just for him. Peter understands what ‘weapon’ is, and the difference between ‘weapon’ and ‘other’ – normal, not special others, lots and lots of others, that was what Creator man had said, people who were not special, not like Peter, who were not weapons.

In Peter’s ‘home’, there are others that belong to Peter.

There is Mama, his talking nice red metal man who is not metal (Peter is surprised by this, when his Mama takes them all ‘home’ and the metal come off like clothes. Peter never knew there were metal clothes), and there is ‘Daddy’, with the soft goldy hair and the pretty blue eyes. Peter likes them the best, they make him safe and warm and play and feed and _everything_.

There are others in the ‘home’, not weapons but not others, not quite; they are too big and fast and changeable to be other but Creator man had _said_ Peter was special, a one of a kind weapon, so they can’t be weapons either.

Still, they _are_ interesting.

Birdy is the one who makes funny faces and jumps around a lot, going up high then around and down and _everywhere_ , and has many names or maybe no name, because his Mama never seems to call Birdy the same thing twice. But Mama had told Peter that Birdy was ‘Birdy’, even if the others said ‘no, Tony don’t tell him that’, so he must be Birdy because Mama is smart and knows many things and is Mama.

Peter likes it best when Birdy picks him up and jumps around with him, and then climbs up _high_ , like flying but not quite but still fun.

When they came home the first time, Mama had shown Peter what dogs were, had let him sit and touch Peggie and Anthony and dog babies. Peter already knew about dogs from Creator man, but seeing them and touching them was very different, and Peter still isn’t sure if he likes these big fluffy happy so happy too happy things. Even though Thor is people shaped, Peter thinks he might actually be a dog, because he is like Peggie, too loud and happy and big and fluffy, but is nice to sometimes play with and touch soft hair. Thor is people shaped, and sort of like others, but Peter decides that at home he is ‘pet’ like Anthony and Peggie and dog babies.

Daddy says Peter is too young to play with pets, and Peter agrees, so Thor can hold and talk to Peter all the time, but if he tries to play like Birdy does, Peter will cry. Playing with Thor will be better when Peter is not young, just like with dogs.

Big Bruce is scary interesting, because he stays away from Peter except sometimes for food-time or bed-time when he holds Peter. He likes those times, because Big Bruce has a nice voice and he _sings_ , and Peter has never heard singing before, only knew word and meaning but singing is fantastic – Peter likes singing very, very, very much. There are times, when there is no singing and Big Bruce is quiet, that Peter can see great big deep sadness in his eyes, and something else, far deep locked away, that frightens Peter. Only once does Peter ever see Big Bruce get big, when he turns green and scary and Peter _hates_ that, because Big Bruce who sings is gone and that something else is there instead. Even though he does not understand, that something else is Big Bruce but not, not singing Big Bruce, but inside, and they say ‘monster’ like Peter’s dead failure brothers were called by Creator man, so Big Other Bruce is not so bad then, if he is ‘monster’ like Peter’s brothers.

When Big Bruce turns into Big Other Bruce for the first time right in front of Peter, he does not cry, even though he is a little bit afraid because Mama and Daddy and others are shouting at Big Other Bruce; but Peter makes special sound just for Big Bruce that means ‘sing’ and reaches for cuddle and then Big Other Bruce goes away back to Big Singing Bruce.

Big Bruce sings for Peter, and singing, Peter decides, is like happy soft nice warm but as sound instead.

Then there is Peter’s Spider. She is special, just like Pepper – lovely woman other who is red hair lady and stern to others but is soft underneath. Pepper does not live at home like Spider, but that is alright, because when he does not have Pepper anymore he has Spider, who stays always. Besides Mama and Daddy, of all others at home, Peter likes Spider best. When Peter is unhappy or lonely, Spider always knows and comes to cuddle. Spider also talks, but talks are ‘secret’, a word Peter knows a lot about from Creator man, things that no one else can know, and that makes Peter different-happy that his Spider tells him secrets, only him.

Spider is like Mama, smart and always talks _to_ Peter even though he can’t tell them he understands (Peter knows from Creator man that other not-weapon not-special babies are stupid and do not understand many things, not like Peter). Spider takes Peter outside sometimes with Daddy into the garden or up high at big home tower and points and shows and talks, and even though sometimes her eyes go far away sad, it is not like the sad in Mama or Big Bruce’s eyes, not deep – instead it is quick and small and turns into sharp and clever and bright and _strong_ , and Peter likes that, wants that too, that sharp clever bright in him always. Then he can make sure Mama and Big Bruce and Thor and Daddy and Birdy are never deep cold sad in the eyes.

One day, when Peter is big and strong and sharp just like Spider, he will fix all his special home others. No, that’s not the right word. It was new, big round, interesting word; Peter just learnt it from Pepper... ah, yes: _family_.

Peter will be like Spider and fix his family.


End file.
